Overworked and Fabulous

Overworked and fabulous sounds like an oxymoron, right? These days it seems like after we get hired on, slowly but surely, more responsibilities fall into our laps than were in our initial job description. While it’s another conversation entirely about negotiating more compensation even if your job title doesn’t change, there are ways to keep yourself looking and feeling your best when life is hectic. Being overtired is a problem many people face as they climb the ladder of their workplace, try to juggle relationships or families on top of careers, and now, doing all of the above through a year of a global pandemic. So, you may find yourself feeling less than your usual fabulousness. Here’s a quick list of things you can do to look and once again feel your best. 

Protect Your Priorities

Protecting your priorities may sound vague, but if you know your priorities, it’s not. You know what is most important to you – whether it’s family, money, travel, exercise, or even mani/pedis. Whatever your priorities are, it’s essential to protect them at all costs. When we defend our priorities, we are forced to make time for them. When we’re knocking off the necessary items on our checklists, we feel accomplished and confident, which parlays into every other aspect of our life, which in turn, makes us feel fabulous! So take time for the one at hand, which is you, by learning to say “no” sometimes. 

Take Care of Your Body

Taking care of your body encompasses several different aspects. The first one is your literal physical body. Maintaining proper hygiene like dental health, nails, and regular hair appointments can go a long way in keeping you looking your best. Ensure you’re taking extra care of your skin by using a quality moisturizer and exfoliating at least once a week. You also want to get physical several times a week. If you read that in a romantic tone, sexual health goes a long way in keeping your mental and physical health top tier. But, it was meant in the form of some type of exercise. This doesn’t even have to mean hitting the gym.

Going on brisk walks, doing light yoga, and stretching or strength training are all excellent ways of taking care of your body. Try several physical exercise styles until you find one that you enjoy the most; enjoying it makes it easy to stick with it. 

Sweet Sleep 

Sleep is the ultimate restorer and necessary for all of us. If you’re reading this article, it’s because you related to being overworked and feeling like life gets a little too hectic at times. But, the truth is, most of us think this way, and many of us are still prioritizing healthy sleep habits. If you haven’t yet, let tonight be the night. You’ve probably heard that disconnecting from phones and tablets, and televisions an hour before bed do wonders for your sleep quality. While this is true, disconnecting several hours before does even more.

If you have a television in your room, remove the temptation altogether. Ditching the TV will also open up avenues for more enjoyable bedroom experiences anyway. It also helps to curate a nighttime routine and stick with it. These can look different for everyone, but they should involve several calming aspects. Things to incorporate could be a calming tea like chamomile, aromatherapy like lavender, taking a nice warm bath to relax. Bonus points if you add Epsom salts to your bath. The magnesium in the salts will also help reduce inflammation in your body, which will definitely keep you looking fabulous. 

Plan Ahead

Luck certainly favors the prepared, as we all know by now. Taking time each evening (perhaps while you’re enjoying your tea) to plan what needs to get done the next day or during that week will help you feel like you have a lot more control over the things going on around you. By having a visual checklist and roadmap to the things you need to get done, when curveballs get thrown your way through work or family obligations, you’re able to quickly assess what takes priorities over what and continue on through your day. 

This list is just a tiny amount of things you can do to look, feel and react better to the chaos and feeling of being overworked as someone juggling life’s personal and professional challenges. Utilize it and feel and see the difference. Good luck!